Posted in Christian Romance, Historical Christian Fiction, Inspirational

Her Darling Mr. Day (2022)

Posted on by Nicole Santana

About the Book

Book: Her Darling Mr. Day

Series: American Royalty, #2

Author: Grace Hitchcock

Release Date: January 4, 2022

Jilted in front of all New York, Theodore Day decides to lose himself in his family’s luxury riverboat business in New Orleans and compete against his brother to become the next company head. The brother with the most sales by summer’s end will win the position. Thanks to Theodore’s fame as a suitor in Willow Dupré’s outlandish competition to find a husband, he has become very desirable royalty in southern society and thus has an advantage.

It took Flora Wingfield’s best work to convince her family to summer in New Orleans, but with Teddy Day a bachelor once again, she’s leaving nothing to chance. Desperate to stand out from all the clamoring belles, Flora attempts a bold move that goes completely awry, only to find it’s her interior design skills that finally catch his notice.

But when Flora learns her father has matchmaking schemes of his own, Teddy will have to decide where his happiness truly lies and what he is willing to sacrifice for it.

Click HERE to purchase your copy!

My Thoughts

Her Darling Mr. Day by Grace Hitchcock is a delightful read. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute spent in this story. I found the plot engaging — I was turning pages well into the night. I loved the characters, but I knew I would because I loved them from book one, My Dear Miss Dupre. In this book, we get to really know Flora, her great-aunt, her parents, and her many, many sisters. And, we meet Teddy’s brother and the many, many women who want desperately to make Teddy a husband. There are plenty of silly hi-jinks moments that had me chuckling — it is interesting to me the lengths a woman is willing to go to get a man — and a few moments that had me shaking my head. These characters sure do get themselves into unique troubles. From almost run-ins with the law, to a band of pirates that commandeer a boat, to physical altercations that lead to fisticuffs, and other sundry shenanigans, it’s no wonder I read this book in just a couple of days. And, if this isn’t quite enough reason to get you interested in the story, Hitchcock also includes timely and thoughtful themes throughout her exciting novel. Not only is Her Darling Mr. Day an excellent read for the average lover of Historical Romance, but I think it would make for a fun book club read, too.

There are a few moments in this story where Flora is difficult to relate to. She comes from a world I have NEVER experienced. Her access to wealth and resources is beyond anything I can comprehend or imagine. I mean, her father gifted her with a personalized, gold collapsible ziplock-style baggie so she can enjoy street-vendor treats without having to take a regular-person paper bag. I cannot relate to that. If I have anything golden it’s probably plated. LOL! I just want to clarify that I have NO issue with people being rich. Richness is WAY more than the $$$ in our bank accounts. If people want a personalized, gold lunch baggie, and they can afford that, more power to ’em! But, as far as relating to characters go, I felt I was having a difficult time with this story — until the age ol’ father-daughter power struggle came into play. Then, I was like, “Yep, I know this story. I’m here for you Flora.” And, I have to say, that Hitchcock does a fantastic job illustrating the heartache that comes from feeling like you will never measure up to the expectations of a father, which beautifully played into one of Hitchcock’s themes — that we ALL have a Father who loves us no matter what. I really loved this discussion and in it realized that regardless of status and/or wealth, daughter-hearts are really all the same. We all crave a Father who will see us, hear us, and love us for the women we are.

Her Darling Mr. Day is a really fun read. I loved my time with these characters and I am sad my time with them is up. This is a story I highly recommend. If you are in the mood for a well-written, highly engaging Historical Romance with timely themes then Her Darling Mr. Day is the book for you!

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Bethany House Publishers, via NetGalley in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Posted in Must-Get Monday, Weekly Themed Posts

Must-Get Monday #65

Posted on by Nicole Santana

To Treasure an Heiress

The Secrets of the Isles #2

by Roseanna M. White

58302947
Releases January 18, 2022

Amazon 🗝️ Goodreads

I LOVE books by Roseanna M. White. They are always SO good. I know To Treasure an Heiress is going to be amazing. I can’t wait to read this book!

About the Book

Beth Tremayne has always been drawn to adventure. During her childhood, she fed that desire by exploring every inch of the Isles of Scilly. As an adolescent, she dreamed of love in London’s ballrooms. Now, stumbling across an old map on her family’s property, she’s found more adventure than she ever craved in the hunt for pirate treasure. Unfortunately, Beth can’t escape the attentions of her family’s guest, Lord Sheridan.

Sheridan has spent years pursuing whatever archaeological interests caught his imagination. And when he discovers that Beth’s search connects with one of his favorite pirates of history, he can’t help getting involved. Plus, he finds her irresistible, even though she insists he stole a prized possession of hers.

As they work together following different clues and drawing closer to danger, they start to piece together a story of tragic love and piratical adventure. But the true surprise is the treasure they discover in each other.

Join the Fun!

What’s a book that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

Posted in Clean Wholesome Romance, Contemporary Clean Read, RomCom

Meet Me in the Margins (2022)

Posted on by Nicole Santana

About the Book

Book: Meet Me in the Margins

Author: Melissa Ferguson

Release Date: February 15, 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance; RomCom

Savannah Cade is a low-level editor at Pennington Publishing, a prestigious publisher producing only the highest of highbrow titles. And while editing the latest edition of The Anthology of Medieval Didactic Poetry may be her day job, she has two secrets she’s hiding.

One: She’s writing a romance novel.

Two: She’s discovered the Book Nook—a secret room in the publishing house where she finds inspiration for her “lowbrow” hobby.

After leaving her manuscript behind one afternoon, she returns to the nook only to discover someone has written notes in the margins. Savannah’s first response to the criticism is defensive, but events transpire that force her to admit that she needs the help of this shadowy editor after all. As the notes take a turn for the romantic, and as Savannah’s madcap life gets more complicated than ever, she uses the process of elimination to identify her mysterious editor—only to discover that what she truly wants and what she should want just might not be the same. Melissa Ferguson’s latest—a love letter to books, readers, and romance—will leave fans laughing out loud and swooning in the same breath.

Click HERE to purchase your copy!

My Thoughts

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson is a seriously fun read. The premise of this story is what drew me to this book — I love the idea of a relationship that blossoms into romance based on secret letters being passed back and forth. Yes, it is Jr. High-esque, but it’s also a great way to get the hero and heroine to be more vulnerable and honest with each other. The anonymity of the notes in the margins of Savannah’s manuscript provides both Will and Savannah a sense of safety to be themselves. There is no pretense to impress anyone, and in this, the relationship is allowed to grow into something a bit more authentic. I also like this book because it made me chuckle … a lot … and I really needed the laughter. Savannah Cade is a great protagonist and I really liked being in her head. What I love the most about Savannah is her ability to go from 0 to crazy in like 3.2 seconds in her thought processes. This is actually where most of my chuckles came from. I feel like Savannah is one of my fictional kindred spirits. I, too, have the unfortunate ability to take my thoughts from sane to spiraling out of control faster than Speedy Gonzalez can run. Another aspect of this story that I appreciated is the fact that this story is all Savannah’s. Yes, there is a great cast of characters — I really love her best friend Lyla and Will is the perfect hero for Savannah — but this story is all about Savannah and her journey to self-discovery, claiming her voice, standing up for what she actually wants, and finding her happily ever after. Meet Me in the Margins is a fun read, but it’s also a subtly empowering one I won’t soon forget.

Meet Me in the Margins is a unique, well-crafted Rom-Com that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. This is a novel I highly recommend, and I highly recommend you add it to your TBR pile today.

I received a copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, via NetGalley, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Posted in First-Line Fridays, Weekly Themed Posts

First-Line Friday #204

Posted on by Nicole Santana

Meet Me in the Margins

by Melissa Ferguson

58429255
About the Book

Pacing the back corner of the packed meeting room in outstandingly uncomfortable heels, I move as silently as possible along the three feet of available aisle space between my begrudgingly accommodating coworker, Clyve, and the horde of beady osprey staring down at me from the vintage wallpaper.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!

GRAB THE BOOK YOU ARE CURRENTLY READING, OPEN TO CHAPTER ONE, AND POST A SENTENCE OR TWO IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

THEN HEAD ON OVER TO READING IS MY SUPERPOWER TO SEE ALL OF THE FLF PAGES THIS WEEK (JUST CLICK ON THE RIMSP BUTTON BELOW).

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Posted in Thursday Encouragement, Weekly Themed Posts

Thursday Encouragement #164

Posted on by Nicole Santana

Welcome to His Encouragement Thursday! I don’t know about you, but Thursdays are my struggle day of the week. By Thursday, I have already been working hard at school and at home, and I just wish it would hurry up and be Friday already. LOL! I definitely need a little extra Jesus time on Thursdays.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His Name!

Psalm 100:4 (ESV)
YouVersion

Happy Thanksgiving everyone in America! I hope today is a blessed day for you, your family, and your friends!

I am thankful for so many things. God has abundantly and richly blessed my life. I am so thankful for my husband and daughter. I am so grateful for my parents, my brothers and sister, and my nieces and nephews. I am grateful for my job and for all of my students. I am grateful for my friends. I am grateful for all my blog followers. But I am most grateful for my relationship with Jesus Christ. God is my reason for everything. I love Him so much and I am so thankful I am here today so I can share this thankfulness with you.

Today, remember that God LOVES you. He is for you. He is waiting with open arms to carry you through all life brings your way. I am eternally grateful for God and His promises to love us all and carry us all through no matter what.

NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN!

WHAT BIBLICAL VERSE IS ENCOURAGING YOU TODAY?

Posted in Christian Fiction, Christian Romance, Historical Christian Fiction, Inspirational

Tomorrow’s Constant Hope (2021)

Posted on by Nicole Santana

About the Book

Book:  Tomorrow’s Constant Hope

Series: Texas Promise #3

Author: Naomi Rawlings

Genre: Christian Historical Romance; Western Romance

Release Date: November 15, 2021

The last thing a woman on the run needs is to find herself married to the richest rancher in Texas…

Keely O’Brien has spent the past five months on the run, but no matter what she does, she can’t seem to evade the ring of dangerous criminals that killed her brother in Chicago. When she spots an ad for a wife from the owner of a small ranch on a remote stretch of Texan desert, she knows she’s found the perfect hiding spot. The Wolf Point Ring might be searching far and wide for her, but they wouldn’t think to look in the tiny, sun-scorched town of Twin Rivers, Texas. Now if she can just keep her new husband from finding out why she really married him…

Agamemnon “Wes” Westin’s feet might be firmly planted in West Texas soil, but his heart is running… Running from the loss of his first wife and stillborn daughter, and running from the fear of suffering loss again. Unfortunately, he has little choice about needing to marry, but he does have a choice about who he marries. If he has to share his roof with someone, he wants a woman who works hard and doesn’t complain. That’s why he decides to run an ad for a bride, claiming that he owns a small ranch, rather than the sprawling cattle empire he inherited from his father. After all, what woman is going to be upset when she finds out her husband is one of the richest men in Texas?

When Wes discovers Keely is hiding from criminals who want her dead, he can’t help but protect her—even if she’s irate with him for lying about the size of his ranch. When danger arrives in Twin Rivers, both Wes and Keely find themselves facing their deepest fears. Will they let their pain and past losses ruin their dreams? Or will Wes and Keely find a way to forge a new life together?

From jagged mountains and green river valleys to cattle ranches and vivid sunsets, Tomorrow’s Constant Hope offers a meaningful story about simpler times, sincere faith, and learning to love again after loss.

Click HERE to purchase your copy!

My Thoughts

OK, so Naomi Rawlings is completely incapable of writing a bad story. Tomorrow’s Constant Hope is FABULOUS! I have loved every story by Rawlings, but it’s official, Tomorrow’s Constant Hope is my favorite to date. This book is SOOOOOOOO good! First, it’s just so well-crafted. The pacing is superb. I read this beautiful story in less than 24 hours. I was hooked from page one and simply could not put this book down. The setting is glorious. I live in the high desert in California, so I have a soft spot for desert settings. They really do have a beauty unlike any other place on earth, and Rawlings captures this perfectly in her book. Rawlings’s characters are also quite special. She has a wonderful way of creating heroes and heroines who get under the reader’s skin and worm their way into our hearts. I love Wes, and Keely is simply amazing. Both are totally endearing and relatable. And, the themes that Rawlings discusses in her novel are thoughtful and timely. All in all, Tomorrow’s Constant Hope is spectacular and I cannot recommend it enough.

Grief and trauma do terrible things to a person’s heart and psyche. They can make us utter vows we really have no business uttering. My heart hurt so deeply for Wes, the hero of this outstanding story. At the start of this novel, Wes is still reeling from the loss of his first wife and unborn child when he marries Keely. He is reeling so deeply that he marries Keely in name only. He swears he will never ever love a woman again, and he will never ever get a woman pregnant as long as he lives. To many, Wes’s vows appear completely over the top. I mean how can anyone stop the heart from loving? How can anyone predict what the future holds? We aren’t God, so how can Wes utter these silly vows with so much fervor and certainty?

My husband and I have actually walked a mile in Wes’s shoes. When we got married we wanted to get pregnant right away. I was 30 and he was 40. We weren’t spring chickens! So we got pregnant right away. Everything was going as planned until I reached the 6-month mark. Then things got bad. I got very sick, our daughter came three months early, I almost died the night of her birth, and she almost died three times over the course of 3 1/2 months. To say my husband and I were traumatized would be an understatement. We may have uttered oaths similar to Wes. It happens. We want so badly to control things, to protect those we love, to protect ourselves, that we say things we very much mean in the moment. Yes, we play God. We don’t mean to put ourselves in God’s place, but we do so while in the fog and haze of trauma and deep-seated fear.

It has taken my husband and me many, many years to actually place our trust in God and give our lives, and the life of our daughter, over to God completely. It’s not easy and we still have days where PTSD strikes and we say and do dumb things. We’re human! What I love so much about Tomorrow’s Constant Hope is how we get to see things through Wes’s perspective. We get to see WHY he feels the way he does. We get to see him wrestle with his trauma and his fears, and we get to see him work all this out with God and with Keely. I can personally attest that Wes is one of the most real heroes I’ve ever read. And, it is pretty cool to see myself and my husband reflected through this character. This book, in many ways, is an exceptionally cathartic read and I am very blessed to have read it.

As with all her novels, Tomorrow’s Constant Hope is absolutely phenomenal. It is a story I will never forget. If you are a fan of well-written, heart-gripping Western Romances filled with well-crafted characters and timely themes, then Tomorrow’s Constant Hope is the book for you!

***Recommendation*** Tomorrow’s Constant Hope can easily be read as a standalone novel; however, I personally feel that to get the best reading experience you should read Tomorrow’s First Light first.

I received a copy of this novel in eBook form from the author, Naomi Rawlings, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Posted in Must-Get Monday, Weekly Themed Posts

Must-Get Monday #64

Posted on by Nicole Santana

Her Darling Mr. Day

American Royalty #2

by Grace Hitchcock

58302967
Releases January 4, 2022

Amazon 👑 Goodreads

I am SO excited to read this book. I absolutely loved the first book in the series, My Dear Miss Dupre, and have been anticipating My Darling Mr. Day ever since. If you haven’t read book 1 yet, I highly recommend you do so ASAP!

About the Book

Jilted in front of all New York, Theodore Day decides to lose himself in his family’s luxury riverboat business in New Orleans and compete against his brother to become the next company head. The brother with the most sales by summer’s end will win the position. Thanks to Theodore’s fame as a suitor in Willow Dupré’s outlandish competition to find a husband, he has become very desirable royalty in southern society and thus has an advantage.

It took Flora Wingfield’s best work to convince her family to summer in New Orleans, but with Teddy Day a bachelor once again, she’s leaving nothing to chance. Desperate to stand out from all the clamoring belles, Flora attempts a bold move that goes completely awry, only to find it’s her interior design skills that finally catch his notice.

But when Flora learns her father has matchmaking schemes of his own, Teddy will have to decide where his happiness truly lies and what he is willing to sacrifice for it.

Join the Fun!

What’s a book that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

Posted in Clean Wholesome Romance, Contemporary Clean Read

Jilted (2016)

Posted on by Nicole Santana

About the Book

Title: Jilted

Series: Discovered by Love #1

Author: Carla Laureano

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: January 19, 2016

Exclusive e-book, free to Carla’s newsletter subscribers! More details on author’s web site.

Three days. Two jaded hearts. One unexpected love.

Bethany Hall is hiding out on a remote private island off the coast of Belize, creating romantic meals for the rich and the privileged. But when her client Derek Moretti’s bride jilts him at the altar, he’s left with a bitter view on love, a $30,000 a week bungalow, and for the first time in his life, nowhere else to be.

After Derek overhears his beautiful personal chef talking about how he dodged a bullet when his bridezilla left him, he begins to think that maybe she’s right. He convinces Bethany to act as his personal tour guide for the remainder of his trip, but neither expects that their purely platonic arrangement could shake their preconceptions about love.

Could Derek have been in the right place at the right time…just with the wrong woman?

Click HERE to visit Carla’s Website for Your Copy of this Novella!

My Thoughts

What a fun and engaging read! I really loved my time reading Jilted by Carla Laureano. The first thing to know about this book is it’s a novella, so it’s a super fast-paced story. The romantic chemistry between Bethany and Derek ignites fairly immediately, but that’s to be expected. It is a novella after all. I have to say the insta-attraction is well written. Sometimes, you really know when you meet the one. And, even though they are reluctant to admit it because they are both love cynics, Bethany and Derek know they’ve met someone different, someone special. Laureano does a great job pacing Bethany and Derek’s meet-cute, their blossoming friendship and attraction, and their inevitable happily ever after. I found their story believable. The issues that Bethany and Derek struggle with in regards to matters of the heart are quite relatable. And, the yummy food and beautiful settings described in this story make me long for a vacation to Belize like yesterday! All in all, Jilted is a really sweet, really enjoyable Contemporary Romance I highly recommend. Head on over to Laureano’s website today to grab your copy of this fun read.

I received a copy of this novella in eBook form from the author, Carla Laureano, via her website in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Posted in Christian Fiction, Contemporary Christian Fiction, Inspirational, Suspense

Dead Fall (2021)

Posted on by Nicole Santana

About the Book

Book: Dead Fall

Series: The Quantico Files #2

Author: Nancy Mehl

Release Date: November 2, 2021

Genre: Christian Mystery and Suspense

After facing the demons from her past, Alex Donovan is ready to move on and focus on her career at the FBI’s elite Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). When renowned profiler and BAU co-founder John Davis is found dead in his hotel room, the FBI is called in to work on the strangest case they’ve ever faced. How do you find a killer who murders his victims without touching them?

When it becomes clear that the killer is targeting agents in Alex’s unit, they are ordered into lockdown, sheltered in the dorms at Quantico. Alex bunks with a controversial agent, Kaely Quinn, who has returned after being dismissed three years earlier. As they work together, Alex discovers in Kaely the role model she’s never had, despite being warned away.

As Alex questions who she wants to become, things get personal when the brilliant killer strikes close to home. Now Alex will do anything to find the killer–even at the risk of her own life.

Click HERE to purchase your copy!

My Thoughts

Hold on to your seats when you read this book! Dead Fall by Nancy Mehl is a novel that grips readers from page one and doesn’t let up until page done. There is so much to love about this book. First, this story is seriously fast-paced. When you decide to read this book, make sure you set aside a good chunk of time cause you are not going to want to be disturbed. The suspense is crazy good — it kept me turning pages well into the night. Mehl has a gift for ending her chapters at the exact moment you don’t want them to end. LOL! The characters are also fantastic First, the villain is especially villainous. He is one of the scariest villains I’ve ever read, and how he “kills” his victims is pretty eccentric. Not only is the villain well crafted, but Mehl’s protagonists are pretty stellar, too. I have actually been anticipating this book since I read the first story in the Quantico Files series because Mehl includes Kaely Quinn from her Kaely Quinn Profiler series. Kaely is one of my most favorite characters ever so I was SUPER excited to see how she would fit in with Alex and her BAU team members. She fit in great and I love how she becomes a sort-of mentor to Alex. I appreciate how respectful and considerate Kaely is of Alex’s trauma, and how she clearly wants to help Alex but also respects her boundaries. One of the reasons I like this story so much is because the focus is more on a female, good-friends relationship rather than on a romantic relationship. You don’t see those relationship types get much development in a Romantic Suspense. It was refreshing to read something unique and unlike what’s typical of the genre. I also really appreciate the many topics discussed in this book. The discussion on finding our value in God and not in other humans is my favorite talking point. As someone who has gotten caught up in caring about what others thought about me, this reminder of where my value comes from resonated deeply.

Dead Fall is another home run by Nancy Mehl. If you are a fan of Suspense novels, then this is definitely the book for you. Purchase yourself a copy today so you don’t miss out on a gripping who-done-it!

I received a copy of this novel in paperback form from the publisher, Bethany House Publishers, in order to review. I also purchased a copy of this novel in eBook form from Amazon.com on November 4, 2021, in order to review. I also received an eBook copy via NetGalley to review. In no way has any of this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.